After 14 years of county police protection, a local city has decided to form its own department.

City Council voted Monday night to start a new police department following months of discussion in Bessemer City.

City Councilman Dan Boling made the motion about 20 minutes into the called meeting that was designated solely for the purpose of deciding the police force issue.

Boling found backing for his motion from councilmen Donnie Griffin and Alfred Carpenter. Howard Jones, Joe Will and Kay McCathen voted against the motion.

Mayor Beck Smith broke the tie and voted in favor of a local police department. Her vote was met with applause from the audience at the meeting.

Before making her decision, Smith turned to City Manager James Inman and asked him how confident he was in the financials he’d compiled. He said with confidence that his numbers were accurate.

Inman has worked in law enforcement and city management for decades. He estimated that the city could save approximately $300,000 per year once the department is established.

End of an era

The Gaston County Police Department has provided police protection for Bessemer City since 1998. The city pays $435,000 a year for the service, while allowing the county to use an 8,000-square-foot building at City Hall as a police substation.

The contract has been renewed on an annual basis, with no one ever questioning the exchange of value.

County commissioners said they recently realized their costs are far above what they are paid in return.

They decided not to renew the contract with Bessemer City using old figures.

Instead, the city was given a phase-in process that would cost $624,000 for county police service in 2014 and gradually increase to $1.1 million by 2018.

The current contract runs through July 1, but county commissioners wanted an answer from Bessemer City by the end of the month.

Gaston County Manager Jan Winters said with that kind of notice officers now patrolling Bessemer City will be able to fill vacant positions rather than lose their jobs.

City Councilman Joe Will called the previous contract with the county a “sweet deal,” but said the new pay structure was “too far out of the park” for Bessemer City.

“If we can afford $1.2 million or $1.4 million, there’s no reason we wouldn’t have our own police force,” he said.

New beginning

Inman researched the cost of starting the local police department using his knowledge and information garnered from a consultant.

The city would need about $800,000 a year, Inman said.

An 11-member police staff — with a chief, two sergeants and eight officers — would cost about $440,000 a year. Benefits would bump that annual cost up to $640,000, according to the consultant.

Factoring in vehicles, uniforms, weapons and other necessities, Bessemer City’s total police department cost in 2013 would be $858,484.

Councilman Boling has repeatedly expressed an interest in having a city police department. But he said Monday night that for him it all came down to money.